


Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen

by katedf



Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-30
Updated: 2013-08-03
Packaged: 2017-12-21 21:18:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/905057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katedf/pseuds/katedf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanks to Camille’s choice of music, Fidel finds the perfect birthday present for Juliet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Camille Cranks Up the Tunes

**Author's Note:**

> One of the radio stations I listen to in the car is an oldies station. They play lots of early rock and roll, going back to the ’50s and ’60s. I heard this song the other day and it got stuck in my head. The only way to exorcise it was to write a story about it.

Richard had barely left the station when Camille clicked on the website to stream music.

“Camille, you know the Chief doesn’t approve,” said Fidel.

“He’s on his way to Government House for a meeting. We can have a few hours of tunes!”

“What are you listening to?” asked Dwayne. “That isn’t my music.”

“It’s a radio station from the States. When I was in Paris, a neighbor of mine was from Philadelphia. She introduced me to oldies rock and roll. I love this stuff. Catchy tunes, good beat. She used to have great parties. Come on, I’ll teach you to dance to this.”

Camille pushed up the volume, and she taught Dwayne a basic lindy.

“That’s it? That’s easy to learn.”

“That’s the basics. You can add other steps to it if you want.”

“No that’s enough. Nobody here will know what I’m doing if I try this, so I don’t need extra steps.”

Camille turned to Fidel, “Do you want a lesson?”

“No thanks.”

“Fidel, you’re turning into Richard!”

“I want to get through this stack of files.”

“Ugh,” Camille said, “You’re going to make Dwayne and me look bad.”

So they all went back to work, going through old files and updating the new database that Richard had convinced the Commissioner to buy. But Camille kept the tunes going.

About a half hour later, Camille exclaimed, “Listen to this one. This one is great! A couple fall asleep at the movies and they go home very late and they’re worried about being in trouble. Can you imagine that now? Kids now get into MUCH more trouble than that!”

She sang along.

> What are we gonna tell your ma?  
>  What are we gonna tell your pa?  
>  What are we gonna tell our friends  
>  When they say, ooh la la?

“Seriously?” asked Dwayne. “Someone was worried because they fell asleep?”

“It was the fifties, Dwayne,” said Camille. “Things were a lot different then, especially about anything to do with sex. Jenna told me that there was a song called ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together,’ and when it was done on TV, they had to sing it as ‘Let’s Spend Some Time Together.’ Now, they sing a lot worse.”

They went back to work. An hour or so later, Fidel looked up from his computer suddenly.

“Camille! What’s this one? This is great!”

She clicked to see the station’s playlist and was about to answer, when Richard returned.

“What are you doing playing music?”

“Shh!” both Camille and Fidel shushed him. Richard looked at Fidel in shock. Camille shushing him was not a surprise, but Fidel had never done anything remotely insubordinate.

> You’ve turned into the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.  
>  Happy birthday, sweet sixteen.

As the song finished, Fidel said, “Did you get the name, Camille? I have to get that as a download for Juliet. The lyrics are perfect.”

“Tra la la la la la la la la—that’s great lyrics?” said Richard in disgust.

“No,” said Fidel, “I mean the main part of the song. It’s Juliet and me. We were kids together. I proposed to her on her sixteenth birthday.”

“Sixteen! Isn’t that young to be married?” asked Richard. He managed to stop himself before adding _even for the Caribbean._

“Oh, no, Chief, we didn’t get married until she was 20 and I was 22. I proposed to her every birthday after that. I still do. Her birthday is coming up, and I want to give her that song.”

“Ohhh,” Camille sighed. “That is so romantic. Juliet is very lucky. I’d love to find someone with a sense of romance like that.”

Dwayne had to smile. Camille was looking at Richard, who was avoiding looking at Camille.

“So, Camille,” said Fidel. “What’s the title so I can search for it?”

“It’s _Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen."_

Fidel, uncharacteristically, used a few minutes of work time to locate a download of the song. He also printed out the lyrics. He used his lunch hour to write a letter to go with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen” was written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and originally recorded by Neil Sedaka.
> 
> The song Camille sings along to is "Wake Up Little Susie," written by Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant, and recorded by the Everly Brothers


	2. Juliet Reads a Letter

Juliet Best opened the birthday card Fidel had tucked into a bouquet of flowers. A sheet of paper fell out. She opened it and began to read.

> Dear Juliet,
> 
> I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I first proposed to you! I love you more now than I did then. I can’t imagine my life without you. I heard this song the other day, and I recognized us. I’ll put the song on your phone. Here are the words that made me think of you.
> 
> “When you were only six, I was your big brother.”
> 
> Remember when we met? My family moved into a house down the street from yours. William and I became friends and we let you tag along after us. We used to hunt for “pirate glass” on the beach, and play hide and seek with the rest of the kids.
> 
> “Then when we were ten, we didn’t like each other.”
> 
> We went through that phase that all kids do, of hating the opposite sex. You were a stupid girl with her stupid dolls. And I was a yucky boy, playing with yucky insects and getting dirty all the time. 
> 
> “When you were thirteen, you were my funny valentine.”
> 
> I remember you so well at thirteen. That was the birthday you begged your mother to buy you a bikini. But you really weren’t ready for it, if you know what I mean. (Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’ve made up for it since then!) You wanted so much to be as grownup as the girls in my class. Were you jealous?
> 
> “So if I smile in sweet surprise,  
>  It’s just that you’ve grown up before my very eyes.  
>  You’ve turned into the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.  
>  Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen.”
> 
> I asked you to marry me on your sixteenth birthday. And now, ten years later, I’m asking again.
> 
> Juliet Best, I love you. Will you marry me?
> 
> Fidel

Juliet sniffed back a few tears. She set down the letter and turned to see Fidel watching her.

“Oh, Fidel, I'm a married woman with a baby, and you just made me feel sixteen again! What a sweet birthday present. You are the most wonderful husband in the world! Ten years later, I love you more than ever and I’m still saying yes!”

**Author's Note:**

> “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen” was written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and originally recorded by Neil Sedaka.
> 
> The song Camille sings along to is "Wake Up Little Susie," written by Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant, and recorded by the Everly Brothers


End file.
